Transformation: Jeanne's Lesson
by IdiotWithaBoxandaScrewdriver
Summary: Continuing after Transformation. Kia turns to Jeanne to teach her about empathy and how good and evil aren't always so easy to define.
1. Chapter 1

Wolf: Hello, continuing on with the story in Transformation, this is the story of how Kia teaches Jeanne her lesson. Somewhat based on the idea of Brother Bear. I own nothing but the plot and my OCs, so let's get on with the show.

"You need to learn empathy, young one, you can't cut people down for standing in your way, you'll only cause more pain. You need to learn that good and evil are not always black and white. Learn well, little one."

The voice reverberated in Jeanne's mind. How ridiculous, what did she need to learn a lesson for? She was perfection, was she not? A worrying sliver of doubt crept into her mind as she recalled the ancient, saddened eyes of the wolf-woman that had stopped her from destroying Hao. Who was that woman? What was she?

Awareness came back in a rush with the honking of car horns, the heavy smell of exhaust, and the noises of someone getting a beating somewhere nearby. Her eyes flew open and she looked out into the darkness of a dark, garbage-strewn alley. She tried to stand up, but tripped and fell on her face, which didn't quite feel right.

She looked down and realized that she wasn't human anymore, she was a cat; a kitten to be exact, because she was quite small. Her fur was long and silvery-white. She felt herself begin to panic as she realized she had no access to her powers at all. She was alone, helpless and powerless.

'I want to go home' she tried to scream, but all that came out was a pathetic mew. The sound of something hitting the wall close to her made her cringe, eyes wide. There was a man beating up another man in the alley with her.

"You should be knowin' better." A deep, Cajun-accented voice said somewhere above her. "De boss don't be likin' when he don't get paid. You better listen good boy, otherwise de boss goin' to send someone who's not as friendly as me, you hear?"

If the other answered, she didn't hear it, but she did see a youngish man, his nose gushing blood, lip split and both eyes blackened, run out of the alley like the hounds of hell were after him. She crouched down as small she could, knowing she couldn't defend herself if the man who'd done the beating decided to start on her.

"Well, what we got here?" She recoiled, hissing as a large hand touched her head. "Hey, little lady, don't be no need for that." She swiped at the hand, claws out. "Oh-ho, a little fighter. You be too well-looking to be street cat, you gotta be someone's pet, yeah? Not going to last long on these streets, little lady."

She continued to hiss and claw at him, trying to make him go away. The only thing that happened was that she found herself bundled up in a coat that smelled of peppermint and cloves and lifted gently. "There now, safe and sound." Big, calloused fingers scratched behind her ears. "No collar, not goin' to put you in a shelter, no miss, them places is no good around here."

Jeanne wriggled around, but the coat was too tightly wrapped around her and the man simply began to walk with her out of the alley. There was graffiti everywhere on the buildings, street lamps broken and a couple of broken down cars on the side of the road. She had been dropped, as a kitten, in what looked like a very bad neighbourhood. What kind of lesson was she supposed to be learning here?

"Yo, Dom!" Jeanne hissed as three young black men dressed in baggy clothes and swaggering like they owned the block walked up. "What you got there? Aww, it's a little pussy." Jeanne longed to swipe the leer from the boy's face, he smelled of alcohol and leaned in far too close for her comfort. "It'd make good target practice."

"Sorry boys, but finders keepers." The man's voice was almost a growl. "Get on outta here." The boys shrugged and walked off. The man let out a sigh and kept walking.

He took her inside an apartment building that smelled of urine, vomit, tobacco and alcohol. She could hear yelling through the thin walls and there were several stains of a dubious nature on the walls and floors. He opened the door to one of the apartments and Jeanne braced herself for a smelly, awful mess inside.

To her surprise, when he turned on the light she beheld a clean, sparsely furniture little apartment. There were a couple of cracks in the plaster on the walls and the windows were boarded up with pieces of wood, but other than that it was tidy, and it didn't smell, unlike the rest of the building. The man set Jeanne still wrapped in the coat on the floor and she wriggled out of it just as he closed and bolted the door, sealing her only means of escape against her.

"There now, little lady, ain't nobody's gonna bother us none in here, don't you worry." She stared up at him, seeing him for the first time. He was a big man, which wasn't hard being a cat, but he probably towered over most people, but he was also slim. His skin was a rich chocolate brown and his bald head gleamed like a polished wood table. Moist hazel eyes and big lips smiled down at her.

The fur on the back of her neck prickled at the sight of blood encrusted on the knuckles of his hands. He turned around and went to the kitchen sink, humming to himself as he washed his hands clean. Jeanne sat down on the floor, completely at a loss of what to do.

"You be hungry, little lady? Yeah, you probably are. Ole' Dom'll cook us up something good, alright?"

Okay, he talked like he expected her to answer back. He was obviously crazy, and a criminal. She had to get out of this place as quick as possible. By the looks and sounds of things this whole neighbourhood should be wiped out; it just oozed of the wickedness of mankind, and she was stuck in the middle of it. She felt dirty just sitting on the floor of a criminal's home.

Her nose twitched as the smell of frying fish and vegetables wafted through the apartment. She decided she would not take food from the criminal. She'd fasted before, in order to make herself stronger and purify her spirit, not that it needed it, so it would not be hard for her to refuse food. It did smell quite good though...

"Now here we go, little lady." The man said, setting a plate of pan-fried fish and veggies on the floor for her. "No bones or nothing. It not be looking like much, but it be good."

Jeanne's stomach rumbled longingly as she sniffed the food. Very deliberately she turned her back and began to walk away, struggling to coordinate her paws. "Eh, get on back here!" She let out an angry mew and tried to swipe at him as he grabbed the scruff of her neck and lifted her up. "We don't waste food in this house, little lady. May not be as hoity-toity as you're used to, but it be good food." He wagged a finger in her face and she was now certain that He was crazy.

He put her down and she decided it was in her best interest to eat. Who knows what the madman would do if she didn't, after all. The fish was good, lightly spiced and no bones. The vegetables were good too and before she knew it she had gulped it all down without a second thought.

"Ah, see, you like that." The man crooned. He tried to pet her and she growled at him. "You a little fighter, that be good, that be good." He chuckled. "This is bad part of New Orleans, you gotta be tough here."

New Orleans? She was all the way in America? Why would that creature send her here of all places? It had to be some kind of trick, she had to be some kind of lesser evil to place her, a symbol of goodness, helplessly in a place of violence such as this.

These thoughts spun around her head so much so that she soon became very tired. The man was lying down a woollen blanket on the floor and after much consideration she laid down on it, curling herself up as small as possible. She fell asleep to the sounds of sirens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: And that's it! What do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: I own nothing!

Someone was screaming on the other side of the wall. Jeanne had gotten barely any sleep last night, owing to the sounds that she'd heard all night. There had been yelling, sirens and even what sounded like gunshots at one point. As a result she felt a little bit cranky and out of sorts when the morning sun had finally made its presence known.

She quietly got up, finding it was a little easier to walk with four legs this morning. She toddled into the bathroom and hopped up onto the counter. On the wall above the sink a cracked mirror was hanging and she looked at herself for the first time.

Her fur was long and silky and her tail poofy. She had a delicate, sharp little muzzle with tiny sharp teeth in it. Her nose was pale pink and she had several very long whiskers. Her eyes were the same colour of rose as they always were.

All the sudden the wolf-woman that had done this to her appeared in the mirror and Jeanne almost fell off the counter in surprise. She hissed at the apparition. "Good, you got to where I wanted to you to be." The apparition said with approval. Jeanne hissed again, wishing that she could chew out the strange creature for what she'd done. "I will understand you if you speak to me."

"_You wanted me to be here?"_ Jeanne yowled angrily. _"Stuck in this stinking pit of crime and violence, with a criminal as my caretaker?"_

The woman's grave, eerie blue eyes bored into hers, as though they could see her soul. "My advice to you youngling is that first appearances are often wrong, and that there's always more to people than you believe." With that she vanished again.

"Little lady, you hissin' at yourself?" The man walked into the bathroom and grinned at Jeanne in the mirror. Jeanne took a more careful look at him this morning and found him to be older than she had thought. He wasn't very old, but he was old enough to have wrinkles on his forehead and cheeks and deep wrinkles when he smiled... he kind of had a nice smile.

"You a pretty little lady, see?" He cooed to her, picking her up and setting her down on the floor, despite her hissing and swiping at him. "Feisty, but Ole Dom needs the bathroom and don't think that little lady wants to stay for that."

She deliberately turned her back on him and walked out of the bathroom with dignity. He chuckled and closed the door after her. She toddled over to the door and stared up at it. She wondered if she would be able to reach the doorknob and turn it if it was unbolted. But then again, where would she go if she did get out? She knew that the world outside that door was not a good place to be, especially for a tiny kitten.

"You like cheerios, little lady?" The criminal asked from the kitchen. Jeanne turned to stare at him as he poured cereal into two bowls. He set one down on the floor for her. "Here, come and try this, see if you like, yeah?"

Jeanne didn't think it was a good idea to refuse if last night had been any indication. She wandered over and obligingly chewed on a couple pieces of cereal. They weren't half bad, she decided, though they were a little dry. She continued to delicately nibble on them while the man poured milk on his own cereal and sat down on the stacked milk crates that functioned as a chair.

"Gotta work today, so you be on your own." The man said. "Don't like that very much, no, no. People like to break in here, nothing much to steal, but they might hurt you, little lady." Jeanne felt her fur fluff out at the sound of that. "I don't know, maybe they let me keep you with me at work, maybe you be like mascot, huh? It is pet store." He sighed. "We see, we see. Until then I leave you here."

Jeanne didn't much like that idea knowing that there were people who might break into the apartment, but once again her situation had made her helpless to do anything else. Once again, what was she supposed to be learning! The wolf-woman was either crazy, or evil.

She flinched when a big, calloused hand stroked down her back. "There, little lady, I put some water for you out so you don't get thirsty. I be back later." He was dressed in a blue polyester shirt and a pair of beige khaki pants. "I'll talk to the boss-man about you bein' there, and I make something good tonight, I get paid so it be grocery time."

He walked to the front door and belatedly Jeanne realized this was her chance to escape. She raced towards the door, but he pushed her back with a foot. "No, little lady. You stay in here. Is safer in here. Bad world outside, bad world. Little lady get herself hurt real bad." He chided. "I be back later." He proclaimed one last time and shut the door, locking it with an audible clang.

Jeanne sat in the middle of the floor, swishing her tail back and forth in agitation. Every little sound in the empty apartment made her cringe, thinking that something was going to pop out and bash her little skull in. A loud bang from somewhere outside had her scurrying for cover under the rickety old kitchen table.

After a couple minutes she began to feel silly and crept out from underneath the table. She heard the wailing of a baby through the walls and laid her ears back; she hated when babies cried and this one sounded really upset. She breathed slowly in and out a couple times, breathing exercises that were supposed to calm her.

Part of her entertained the fantasy that Marco would come bursting in the door and rescue her. That little bubble of hope was popped when she remembered that Hao had killed Marco, defending the wolf-woman against him. The wolf-woman had been in cahoots with Hao all along, she decided, and now was torturing her for amusement.

She hissed unhappily and began to pace. Presently she became bored and curious and decided to explore the tiny apartment. There wasn't much besides the kitchen, the nearly empty living room space, the bathroom and a single bedroom.

She walked into the bedroom and found an old mattress with tattered blankets on the floor, neatly made up. A couple of stacks of books sat in one corner and the open closet revealed a small amount of clothes hanging up in an orderly fashion. Photographs were taped on the walls in a sad attempt to make the white, cracked walls look a little cheery.

The room was lonely and made Jeanne feel a little bit of pity. She quickly shoved that down; he was a criminal after all. Who cared if he was lonely? He should be in jail, by what she had seen already, maybe on death row. If he could beat up a man, why couldn't he kill a man too?

She went over to the stacks of books and tilted her head to read the authors' names. Homer, Shakespeare, Ghandi? She frowned, wondering what a criminal was doing with books like that. They seemed well-worn, so obviously they had been read a lot, but why? Low class criminals didn't concern themselves with classics or peaceful political figures.

She moved on to the photographs pasted along the walls. Most of them featured a young man or a young woman that looked like they could have been the man's kids. What happened to the kids, or the wife, for that matter? For the first time Jeanne began to wonder what exactly had made this man a criminal, especially when some of the photos were with him and his kids, and they all looked so happy.

%&%&%&%

"Little lady!" The man was home, finally. She hated herself for feeling relieved that he was there. "Good news, boss man says that you can come with me to work, even give you a collar to show you belong to me and not for sale. That better than bein' here all day, yes?"

'Yes!' She wanted to scream. If she was out in public she might be able to convince someone, who wasn't such a sinner, to take her home with them. The man hummed to himself as he put away the few bags of groceries that he had. "No cat food for little lady, though. Little lady only eats what I would eat, none of that mass-produced cardboard, oh no."

Well, that was a relief. She didn't think she would have been able to bear the humiliation of having to eat like a cat as well as be one. She flinched and growled when he tried to pet her. "You don't much like me, do you? Ole Dom scare you, little lady? I never hurt a little thing like you, I hurt people who hurt little things like you."

She looked at him and his eyes looked so sad for a moment. "Ah well, you probably hungry, huh little lady?" He chuckled as though she'd answered him. "Well alright little lady, I'll fix us up a little something to eat. Don't get used to really good stuff though, Ole Dom eats a lot of canned food too. Ole Dom don't have much money to himself."

She sniffed daintily. As though she couldn't figure that out for herself, his apartment screamed 'poor'. He patted her head once, dodging her swiping claws with a chortle and then set about making them supper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf: I own nothing!

After another surprisingly yummy dinner of sausages and sautéed vegetables, Dom put the last of the dishes away and sighed. "I'm sorry little lady, but I do have to go out tonight. Ole Dom's got another job you see, and it be too dangerous for a little thing like you to tag along."

Jeanne thought that he was probably going out to kill somebody and hissed at him. "I don't like it much either, little lady, but I don't have much of a choice." Dom sighed, looking quite old. Jeanne ignored him as he got up and headed for the door. "You stay safe till I come back little lady." He closed the door and Jeanne heard it lock. She was alone again.

She was a little less nervous than she was the first time she'd been left alone, enough that she actually tried to get some sleep. Hours later the sound of the lock turning roused her and she lifted her head sleepily as Dom trudged in. The kitchen light turned on and a moment a low, mournful sigh reached her ears.

Curious, she stood up and padded over to the kitchen, peeking inside. Dom was sitting at the table, his head in his hands, a bottle of vodka sitting in front of him. He eyed the vodka with a mixture of desire and disgust for a moment before taking the bottle over to the sink and pouring the entire thing down the drain.

He turned around and found Jeanne peeking in at him. "Alcohol turns me into someone I don't like, little lady." He explained with a weary smile. "But it be impolite not to accept a gift, especially if the giver is a crime boss that can have you messed up. Don't mean I have to use it though." He knelt down and patted her head, avoiding the bite she tried to give him. "Best get some sleep little lady, you be coming with me to work in the morning, remember?"

She did, only because it meant she could hopefully get away from this criminal and find someone better to take care of her. She trotted back over to her makeshift bed and curled up, not even bothering to his when Dom stroked her fur briefly before heading to his own room and going to sleep.

%&%&%&%

"Wakey-wakey, little lady." Jeanne hissed and struck out at the hand shaking her. "Little lady, you gonna want me to carry you when we outside, otherwise somebody may try to hurt you." Jeanne growled softly, but realized if things were as bad around this area as she feared, he was right.

After a quick breakfast of cheerios Jeanne found herself tucked in the crook of one big, strong, but gentle arm. Dom hummed a lilting tune to himself as he walked, not seeming to see the decrepit state of his neighbourhood. He probably thinks it looks nice, Jeanne thought nastily to herself, scum doesn't mind a little dirtiness.

A couple times some hard-looking youths took an interest in what Dom was carrying only to be sent packing by a few growls and well-placed threats, while Jeanne cringed against his strong arms. "Stupid kids, think they can play at being tough, run with the gangs, bah!" He spat on the ground. "Where they goin' to be in a couple years? Outta school, on the streets, hyped on drugs, then one day somebody stab them in the back. It be a cryin' shame, some of these boys is smart, but they too stupid to use those smarts."

Jeanne was puzzled by his words. If he cared so much about those boys using their smarts, why was he involved in the crime underbelly of the city? Why did a man, who Jeanne believed was smart judging by his reading material, decide to turn to a life of crime? Dom was starting to make less sense to her and she did not like being confused.

"Here we go." Dom announced, making Jeanne look up. A fairly large building stood in front of her. It was one of the big corporation-owned pet stores, though that had not saved it from the influence of the ghetto around it. Graffiti streaked the walls and one worker was vainly trying to wipe off some of the more inappropriate artwork.

Dom stepped inside and was immediately set upon by a couple of young-looking women, early twenties in Jeanne's eyes. "Ooh, is this your little kitty, Dom?" One asked. She had cafe-au-lait skin, warm chocolate eyes, a small afro poof and an obvious baby belly.

"This is my little lady." Dom said, smiling at her. "How's your little one, Jenny?" He asked as Jenny reached out to pet Jeanne. Jeanne allowed it, the soft smile and gentle coo disarming her. "Huh, she like you, but she don't like me too much."

"That's 'cause you're a big, scary dude." The other woman cackled. She was pale-skinned with a generous dusting of freckles, frizzy red hair and green eyes framed by a pair of rectangular glasses. "She'll warm up once she figures out you're just a big old softie." She continued, standing up on tip-toes in order to pat him on the cheek.

"Aww, you gonna ruin my reputation Kris." Dom complained good-naturedly, ruffling her hair. "Better talk to the boss, make sure this is okay."

"I'm sure it will be, who could say no to this pretty face?" Jenny cooed, scratching under Jeanne's chin. Jeanne surprised herself by starting to purr.

"Alright, sorry to cut the girl time short, but we better get going." Dom sighed. Jenny and Kris nodded and walked back to the registers they were working on. Dom carried on to the back, through the employees only areas to a small office where a middle-aged Hispanic woman with intelligent black eyes and a no-nonsense attitude sat doing paperwork.

"So, this is your little lady?" She asked, her tongue rolling her syllables just slightly.

"Yup, this be her." Dom said proudly. "It still be okay to have her here, right Adora?"

"So long as you keep her on a leash." Adora replied, pulling out a halter and leash and putting them on the desk in front of her. Jeanne stared at it, aghast at the idea that she had to be put on a leash like an animal!

"Don't think she like that idea much." Dom commented, seeing the look on her face. "Little lady, you gotta wear that, not only so that the customers don't think we running a bad place here, but so that no one can snatch you up, understand?"

Jeanne looked at him, and then at Adora, who was watching the exchange with some bemusement on her face. She relaxed in Dom's arms and let him slip the halter over her, hating the feel of it. "There now, wear it like it was a crown, not a leash." Dom advised. She gave him a haughty look and he grinned at her. "Come on now, time to work." He said, lifting her with one hand and depositing her on his shoulder.

Dom's job today was stocking; a somewhat boring affair for Jeanne. When she was out on the floor she was on the lookout for potential humans to take her away, but her pickings were slim. It was a weekday, and morning at that, so most people coming in were either loiterers, who were chased off by security, or families with children. Jeanne shuddered at the idea of having to deal with small children.

Dom seemed to realize this and the few times a child tried to pet her he told them that the little lady was shy and didn't like to be petted by strangers, maybe next time. He was always so gentle with the little ones, and knew some of them by name. He would chat with their mothers, inquiring about the hamster, the kitten, the turtle or whatever they had and listening with complete attention.

When he was lifting heavy items to the shelves Dom would put her down on the ground and stand on the end of her leash. She would work at the leash, trying to get it free. What she would do when she was free, she didn't know. Maybe she could get either Jenny or Kris to take her home, they seemed well enough.

She actually got herself free towards the end of the morning and quietly stalked away, seeing how far she would get before she was noticed. She halted as she got out of the row she was in, hearing shouted swearing and obnoxious laughter coming towards her. She tried to back up, but was too late to avoid being spotted by a couple of nasty-looking teenage boys swaggering around like they owned the place.

One of them lunged forward at the sight of her and grabbed the end of her leash. "Look what I found!" He crowed triumphantly. "A little pussy to play with." She hissed at him, ears flat against her skull in terror and anger. He dragged her towards him while she struggled.

"What do you think you doin'?" Jeanne cringed at the thunder in Dom's voice. She looked up and saw that he had the scariest glare on his face. She was simply happy it was directed at the boys and not her. The boy holding her dropped her leash but tried to look tough.

"What do you care old man? Get outta here before I beat your wrinkled ass." He jeered. The sneer on his face wavered as Dom stepped towards him, the ugly look never leaving his face.

"You not welcome here, boy." He growled deep in his chest. "You best get out before I take you out. And if I ever see you in here again, I gonna be on your ass."

He took another menacing step towards the boys who looked like they were about to piss themselves and they scattered, tripping over each other to get away from the big, scary man. Jeanne didn't realize she was shaking until she was picked up and calloused, gentle hands were petting her.

"There now little lady, it be alright." Dom soothed, his voice back to being gentle. "They bad kids, no respect, all attitude. They not come back, and if they do, I won't let them near you."

Jeanne was starting to become confused by this man. He was a criminal, and yet to children and to her, he was a gentle giant. Mess with him and you were screwed, but he seemed to be a mild person at his core. She found herself curious about why exactly he had become a criminal in the first place.

~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Sorry this took so long, exams :P.


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: I own nothing!

"Time for lunch." Dom announced soon after the incident with the teenage boys. Jeanne allowed him to hoist her onto his shoulder. She dug her claws in slightly as he began to walk to the back. He sat down in a small room with a tiny TV, a couple posters on the peeling walls, a kitchenette with a small fridge, a microwave and a bunch of cupboards and a long table.

Jenny was already sitting at the table, with a Tupperware container of cold pasta and a baby name book in her hand. "Figure anything out yet, Jenny?" Dom asked. She looked up at him, shaking her head and smiling.

"Ray likes the name Matilda for a girl, but I like the name Tina, I'm trying to find some other names that we both can agree on." Jenny replied. "We already decided if it was a boy he'll be named David."

"That boy Ray sounds real excited now." Dom chuckled. "Would never believe how freaked out he was when he find you been knocked up."

"I know, but he's a real gentleman, not like so many of the other guys around here." Jenny said. As Dom sat down with a chicken salad sandwich she leaned in conspiratorially and whispered. "There's rumours he's gone and bought a ring."

"Oh, yes. That boy does be a romantic." Dom chuckled. "You gonna say yes if he asks?"

"I think I will." She replied, smiling softly. "He's the best guy I ever dated."

"And he be willing to be daddy to that baby of yours." Dom reminded him. "Most boys runnin' away when they knock up they girls."

"Yeah, I know." Jenny watched as Dom tore a piece of his sandwich off to feed to Jeanne. "She don't eat regular cat food?"

"You know as well as I that stuff be like cardboard." Dom scoffed. "Can't afford the really good stuff, and she got a taste for my cooking already."

"Do you think she'd like some of my pasta?" Jenny asked, holding out a forkful of pasta to Jeanne. Jeanne sniffed at it and daintily nibbled, finding the flavour quite nice. "She definitely is a lady, look at how politely she eats." Jenny giggled, running a hand down her back. "She is so soft."

"She very soft." Dom agreed. "She almost got into trouble today. Some boys from the high school were in here, stirrin' up trouble, and caught sight of her, decided they wanted a little fun. Thank god she wasn't too far from me, I hate to think what those nasty boys would do to her."

Jenny shuddered at the thought. "Poor little Lady." She cooed. "People around here aren't always so nice. Ray's actually looking to get out of this neighbourhood, saving up cash to get an apartment somewhere else."

"That be good, that be good. Don't want to be raisin' no babies around here." Dom sighed. "They grow up too fast here, too fast." Jenny nodded in agreement, her eyes sad. Jeanne looked between the two of them, feeling even more confused by Dom's conversation.

"There's the pretty kitty!" Kris crowed, bouncing into the break room. "I got something for your Lady." She said, holding up a fur brush with a broken handle. "Fished it out of the damaged merchandise bin, thought that with all that pretty fur she could use a brush."

"Why thank you, Kris, that be real nice of you, and I think Lady will thank you too." Dom said. Jeanne's ears twitched. She'd all but heard the capital inflection of the word 'Lady' that time. It seemed that it had migrated from being a title, a description of her personality, into an actual name. She found that she didn't mind the change so much; she'd always been called a 'lady' by Marco and the others anyways.

%&%&%&%

"Home again, Lady." Dom sighed as he pushed open his apartment door and Jeanne leapt out of his arms onto the floor. "I gonna get dinner ready, not goin' to be very fancy though." He warned her. She turned her nose up delicately at him, putting on an air of uncaring. He laughed. "Well, it don't have to be fancy, so long as it be edible, right?"

He got out a can of soup from the cupboard and got it simmering on the stove. Jeanne watched him as he puttered around the kitchen. He hummed to himself as he worked, his face open and contemplative as he moved. He was oddly graceful for such a large man, yet seemed to be very conscious of his every move, as though used to having to watch where he was going.

Every so often he'd look over at her and either smile or say something to her. It occurred to her now that his constant one-sided conversations with her were not a result of madness, but loneliness. It seemed the only other time he had people to talk to was at work, but at home he was all alone.

"There we be now." Dom finally said, pouring out the hot soup into two bowls. "Be careful now, little Lady, it be very hot." He warned. Jeanne took him at his word and cautiously lapped at the soup. It was hot, but she was careful not to burn her tongue. It was cheap soup, but it was food and she was hungry.

"I gotta go out again tonight, little Lady." Dom said regretfully, taking her bowl and his bowl over to the sink to wash them. "You be careful in here when I be gone, you hear?" She almost nodded, but remembered herself in time. She didn't want him to see her as peculiar; he might get bad ideas then.

%&%&%&%

Jeanne waited until Dom was gone and went into the bathroom again. She sat in front of the mirror, tail swishing behind her, staring at her reflection. She was starting to forget what she had looked like as a human, and that scared her a little. She remembered silver hair, rose-coloured eyes and a petite body, but there was a blank where her face was in her mind.

Her reflection flickered and this time she was prepared for seeing Kia in the mirror. "You've seen a little more of Dom's life, can you guess now why I sent you to him of all people?"

"_No, I do not." _Jeanne growled angrily. _"Maybe there is goodness in that criminal's soul, but it does not change what he has done!"_

"So, you admit that those who do 'evil' acts may have goodness in them?" Kia said with some amusement. Jeanne hissed, realizing that she had somehow said exactly what Kia had wanted to hear.

"_Dom is not Hao, Hao is the evil one and cannot feel any goodness in him." _

"If you say so." Kia replied calmly and then vanished again. Jeanne grumbled at the empty mirror for a moment, despising the way she vanished without warning before she could even think to try and convince her to change her back.

She calmed herself down, chastising herself for giving into her anger, and hopped off the counter. She decided to go into Dom's room. Once again the bed was impeccably made and the room itself tidy and almost homey in a way that the bareness of the rest of the apartment wasn't. She walked up to the wall and sat down, staring up at the photographs that lined them.

She started noticing other scraps of paper in among the pictures. Handwritten pages of recipes, cut-outs from magazines of restaurants and famous chefs dotted the walls here and there. It seemed that Dom had aspirations as a chef. His cooking was certainly good enough to warrant starting his own business, so why didn't he? It was certainly a little bit of a puzzle, one she was finding had more pieces than she'd initially assumed.

"What you be doin' now, little Lady?" Jeanne started at Dom's voice and the hand running down her back. She was still too deep in thought to think of hissing at him as he continued to pet her. She very slowly reached out and pawed at the picture with the young man with Dom's hazel eyes close to her. "Ah, that be my boy, Toby." He said, smiling fondly. "He gotta be in his early twenties now, but I don't see him no more."

Jeanne tilted her head at him and meowed. Dom chuckled and rubbed behind her ears. "I got put in jail for a couple years, and when I got out, found he was runnin' for the crime boss, same guy I work for now. I didn't want him there, so I went to the boss and made him a deal. He let my son go in exchange for my employment. I big guy, strong guy, fresh from prison, he jumped at the chance."

Jeanne's mind worked quickly to absorb this information. He'd only gotten into the crime world because his son had been there and he wanted him out. But, why had he gone to jail in the first place? The answers she was getting only led to more questions.

"I told that boss I wouldn't run drugs or be a killer for him, my hands were bloody enough." Dom said with uncharacteristic venom. "I find those stupid enough to get into debt with the crime boss and think they don't need to pay and teach them a little lesson. I figure, if they stupid enough to get in debt, they oughta have someone to try and knock some sense into they stupid little brains, right?"

Jeanne saw the logic in that. She meowed at him again, wanting to know more, but he smiled tiredly at her. "It be late, little Lady, and we need our sleep." He told her. "Go on now to bed." Jeanne obeyed, trotting over to her little nest of blankets. It was a long time before her buzzing mind allowed sleep to overtake her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf: I own nothing!

The next week settled into a familiar pattern for Jeanne. She would go to work with Dom, come home and have dinner with him, and then he would go out and beat up debtors too stupid to pay their dues. On Saturday she woke up and realized she had not been roused to go to work and that the light of the sun was telling her that it was already fairly late in the morning.

"Good morning, little Lady." Dom greeted, coming out of his room clad only in a white wife-beater and a pair of boxers. "It be the weekend, which means no work for ole' Dom. Gotta love full-time status, huh?"

Jeanne had no idea what that meant, but it seemed as though Dom didn't work on the weekends. Did that mean that she would be cooped up inside all day? She liked being out of the apartment during the day, even if it was to accompany Dom to work.

"It be a lovely day out, we go to the park." Dom said decisively. Jeanne tilted her head at him. "There be a lovely little park down by the river, 'bout fifteen minutes walk. You have to wear you leash of course, but it be nice to be out in the open air, at least for a little while."

Jeanne thought that it would be acceptable. She'd come to tolerate the leash and even saw it as a bit of protection for herself. No one could steal her away from Dom when he held the leash and people tended not to bother her as much because she was someone else's pet.

"How 'bout some good ole pancakes for breakfast?" Dom asked, looking in the cupboards. "I think we still got some blueberries, make some nice tasting pancakes. No syrup for you though, little Lady, no, no, not good for little kittens."

She had never enjoyed the sugary sweetness of syrup anyways, but the pancakes sounded good. She hopped up onto the counter to watch him prepare their meal. She watched his face as he worked, seeing his joy at making food. She had yet to figure out anything else about him, thanks to his busy schedule, but she was going almost insane with curiosity.

She hopped back down onto the floor as Dom finished, daintily nibbling at the pancake he'd given her. The bursts of sweet-sour from the blueberries intermingled with the sweet starch of the pancake batter, filling her senses with flavour and scent. She didn't think that any of the meals she'd had ever tasted as good as Dom's. Even the ones made from cans were just as good so long as Dom added a bit of spice or flavour.

Her meals with Marco, as the Iron Maiden, had mostly been drab and monotonous. She had been taught to put aside such earthly pleasures as flavourful food, and had never had any qualms until now. She felt almost angry at being denied such pleasures now, and felt ashamed as well, feeling as though she dishonoured Marco's memory. She refused to give up good food though, now that she had tasted of it.

"You ready to go little Lady?" Dom asked when she was finished. She pointedly looked at the dirty dishes piled in the sink and then back at him. He chuckled deeply. "Nothin' important to do today, work can wait." Dom told her.

She allowed him to put the leash on her and lift her up to his shoulder. She settled herself, digging her claws in just enough to keep herself in place without drawing blood. She'd found her dislike of Dom fading as the days went on, and instead a sense of almost camaraderie took its place, a feeling so unfamiliar for one who's only relationships were that of a saviour to those that followed her.

Dom set out at a leisurely pace once they were out of the apartment. Jeanne cast her gaze around the neighbourhood as they walked. There was still trash, broken down cars and graffiti, but it no longer seemed as dark or as foreboding as she had first perceived it being. Even some of the graffiti, those not depicting inappropriate things, she now found had an artistic quality to them.

Not everyone she passed on the street seemed likely to kill her as well. The young men were the worst with their swagger and attitude, but even then there were some that were polite and seemed respectful. She found that once she'd discarded the certainty that this was a bad place, she was seeing things that had been hidden to her before.

Her introspection continued as Dom walked along, chatting quietly but happily to her. His voice had a strangely soothing affect on her and she lazily yawned, the warmth of the day making her a little sleepy. "Here we be, little Lady." Dom suddenly said, cutting through her sleepy thoughts.

She looked around the small park. The grass was brown in some spots and most of the trees had a bit of a sickly look to them, but it was a veritable oasis in this urban jungle. At the edge of the grass a small footpath wound its way along the bank of the mighty Mississippi River, and upon which joggers ran with their bodies of all shapes and sizes tucked snugly into sweatpants and t-shirts.

Dom chose the least sickly-looking of the trees to sit under, a weeping willow with branches that first reached upwards and then curved down to brush against the ground. Dom set her on the ground, holding the end of the leash loosely in order to allow her room to explore a little bit.

"This be nice place, when the river is happy." Dom said slowly, almost lazily. "The view be good, sometime the smell not so nice, but it be good to look at. But the river get angry sometimes, spill over the bank and attack the city. Not a good time to live near the water then."

_Nature gives and takes away._ The memory of that voice was uncomfortably familiar, Hao's voice, so smug and sure. She shivered slightly at the mere memory of it. She did not like thinking of Hao right now, knowing she was helpless to stop him if he came here to raze the humans out of existence.

Her memory then flicked to her last dealings with Hao. His voice was different then, and his face was more open. She'd been too angry to listen at that point, as he had destroyed Marco, but she realized now he'd only done it to protect the wolf-girl. He'd clung to Yoh in those moments, as though afraid of something. It was very un-Hao-like behaviour and it made her pause now to try and consider what it meant.

"You wanna walk along the river, little Lady?" Dom's voice startled her and she flinched at his hand. "It alright, just ole Dom. Lost in you thoughts?" Jeanne bristled slightly at his teasing tone. "Come on, let's walk a little bit, stretch our legs."

Jeanne found herself not riding on Dom's shoulder, but walking alongside him while he held her leash. She felt like a dog going for walkies, but it did feel good to stretch her legs. She got a couple of odd looks, a couple of laughs, but most people were too absorbed in their own lives to pay her much attention.

Dom only curbed her walking ahead of him when it looked like she had not noticed glass shards on the sidewalk. Every so often Dom would stop and pick her up, inspecting the bottoms of her feet for anything that may have gotten stuck in them. Jeanne allowed this without complaint; glass in her paws would be very painful indeed.

She started to flag after a little while, her kitten's body didn't have a lot of stamina. Dom noticed and scooped her up, cradling her in his arms like a baby. Jeanne nearly protested, but Dom had begun scratching her under the chin, right in her sweet spot, and she'd been too distracted by enjoyment to raise any objections and actually purred softly as they walked along.

They walked along the river until Dom came to a small ice cream stand. "What you think, little Lady, should we see if you like ice cream?" Jeanne tilted her head and meowed up at him. "Alright, we'll go with vanilla, less chance of you gettin' sick."

Dom ordered vanilla in a waffle bowl for her and chocolate mint for himself. They sat down at a picnic table, Jeanne on top and leisurely began to eat. Jeanne found it best to lick at the ice cream as opposed to biting it; the cold hurt her teeth. She had not expected the smoothness of the flavour of the ice cream or the sweetness of the waffle bowl.

Dom chuckled at the sight of her dainty licks and spooned out his own ice cream slowly, savouring it. "Don't get used to this." He warned her. "This be a treat only. Don't have money to be eatin' ice cream all the time, but today be a nice day, good day for a reward for hard work, yeah?"

Jeanne understood the logic; she knew he was not well off. He may not have been desperately poor, or homeless, but he was low-class in terms of money, though not in terms of attitude it seemed. She had begun thinking that those who regarded themselves as above others could learn a thing or two from how Dom conducted himself around others.

She could not finish the ice cream treat, it was too big for her. Dom polished it off happily, teasing her for her small belly. He then scooped her up and settled her back on his shoulder, heading back home. It was, in Jeanne's opinion, one of the happiest days she'd even seen. She'd forgotten what laziness, what relaxation felt like, and decided that if and when she turned back human, she would no longer deny herself such days as this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf: I own nothing!

Jeanne sat in Dom's room, contemplating the pictures of the pretty black woman with Dom's hazel eyes. She figured she was Dom's daughter, but like Tony, Dom had never said anything about her, and Jeanne had never seen her. Had she too been involved in something she shouldn't have been? Had Dom had to give her up?

"Hey little lady." Dom's tired voice said from above her. A big hand stroked her back. "This not a good job for me, beatin' up folks, workin' for the crime boss. Dangerous it is, yes, yes." Jeanne let him ramble. She'd long since figured out that Dom spoke aloud to make the empty apartment seem less lonely. "Didn't want this, never wanted to be stuck here. Was gonna be a chef, open a little bistro along the river, was gonna be good, you know. But here I be, stuck in the ghetto, workin' for the scum of the earth."

Jeanne stared at him. She'd figured that he wanted to cook from the care he put into their meals and the recipes lining his walls, but it was one thing to expect and another to hear it. He had innocent dreams. It was shaking everything she'd been told about criminals living around him. She'd always been told they only thought bad things, and she was the one who had to get them to think about good things, because they couldn't do it themselves.

She put the thought that Marco may have deceived her out of her mind and pawed at the picture of the pretty young woman. Dom knelt down beside her and touched the photograph, a sad smile on his face. "That be my little girl." He said softly. "My little Marie."

Jeanne waited as Dom tenderly touched the photograph, stroking it softly. "She was so beautiful, so smart too. She was gonna be big businesswoman, told me she would help me get my restaurant. But she was so beautiful she attracted some attention, and not the good kind." He sighed sadly. "One night she was walkin' home from her part-time job and she was jumped... and raped." The last two words came out in a whisper.

Jeanne stared in horror. She never would have suspected something like this. Her skin crawled at the thought of being completely violated like that. The poor girl, and poor Dom too; as a father he must have felt he failed in his job to protect his little girl.

"She told me who done it to her. They protected by the crime boss, so the courts woulda done nothin'." He spat angrily. "The morning after she was hurt by those bad men, I found my little girl in the bathtub, her wrists slit. My little girl had killed herself." A soft whimper escaped him and tears trailed down his face.

Jeanne felt so bad for him that she walked over and settled herself in his lap, trying to comfort him as best she could. He cradled her, crying into her fur, tears staining it. After a couple minutes he managed to calm down somewhat. A steely look came into his eyes, one that scared her a little bit.

"Those men had to pay for what they did, what they drove my little girl to." He growled. "I found the one, and had planned to just rough him up, but he fought back hard, and in the end he was lyin' dead on the ground. I took him to the bayou, dumped him in." Dom gave her a hard smile. "The other one I just beat up and let go, which was a mistake. He went to the police and I got thrown in jail for assault. Couldn't get into my daughter's rape because then they woulda asked about the other guy and I woulda been in jail for life."

So that was why Dom had gone to prison. "My wife divorced me while I was in jail. I think she blamed me for our baby girl's death." He admitted sadly. "I don't regret goin' after those bastards that hurt Marie though, they deserved what they got and more." He growled. "There be at least one less rapist in the world."

Jeanne thought that she would be appalled by the knowledge that Dom didn't even regret killing someone, but she saw the way he thought about it. The man had taken something irreplaceable, from both Dom and Marie, and he'd made sure that at least one of them could ever hurt a girl like that ever again. In her opinion, such a person that could act in such a cruel manner did not deserve to live, or at least to live with a reminder of the wrong he'd done.

The hands that had been stroking him stilled as Dom released a jaw-cracking yawn. "Time for bed, little Lady." He said, gently setting her on the ground and pushing her rump in the direction of the door. She trotted out, hearing him close the door after her. It was kind of funny the way he made sure she wasn't in the room if he was going to be changing or exposed in any sort of way.

She padded quietly to the bathroom, thinking hard. She used a paw to flick on the light and stared into the mirror, willing Kia to appear. She didn't have to wait long. Unlike the other times neither of them spoke right off. Jeanne looked down at her paws, considering the questions she had for the wolf-girl.

"Why does Hao kill?" She finally asked. Kia raised a white eyebrow at her.

"You mean why did he kill?" She corrected. "Hao suppressed a lot, including his empathy for other people. He'd been hurt too many times, lost too much, and he felt it was better if he didn't feel anything. That's why he was able to kill without a second thought. He lost his mother at a young age, you see, to humans that thought she was a demon because of her ability to communicate with spirits."

'_That's why he hated them so much?' _Jeanne deduced.

"That is the root of his hatred, yes." Kia replied.

'_Why would he have killed Lyserg's parents if he had lost his own then?'_

"The human psyche is a strange thing. Hao hated that he'd had his mother taken away from him and every family he saw reminded him of that fact. Subconsciously he wanted them all to feel the same pain as him and so he would leave one alive." Kia explained. Jeanne pondered that for a moment, her plumed tail slowly flicking back and forth.

'_You said he 'did' kill. Has he done no more killing while I've been here?' _She finally asked.

"None at all." Kia revealed. "It might simply be out of respect for Yoh, whom he still is living with, or it may be that the wounds of his past have finally been healed."

'_Why did you change him into a beast?'_

"I serve the Mother Goddess, and she asked me to try and get through to him, as he was once in her service and she is reluctant to see her children fall into darkness. I changed him into a beast in order for him to learn to care for someone other than himself. The only way for the spell to be broken would be to sacrifice himself for another."

'_I'm surprised that worked.'_

"I knew him a long time ago, he's a good man, he just allowed his demons to rule him for too long."

'_How often do you do things like this to people?' _Jeanne asked. Kia grinned at her, revealing pointed canines.

"Often enough." She said with some amusement.

'_Why?'_

"Because I serve Life, and in so doing I feel I have a duty to try and help those in need, even if they don't think they're in need." Kia replied. "Sometimes people just need a nudge in the right direction."

'_What gives you the right to decide that?' _Jeanne demanded, annoyed. Kia gave her a half-smile.

"Many of the times that I have interfered with lives it has been on the request of the gods, so it seems that they trust my judgement." Kia shrugged. "I've been around long enough to know a little bit about how people work." She added.

Jeanne thought about that. Kia had said that she knew Hao before he'd been the monster that Jeanne thought he was, which put her around one thousand years ago. How old was this curious creature? What had she seen in her supposedly long life?

'_Who are you, really?' _She asked curiously.

"Just a simple shopkeeper, trying to keep the world a good place." Kia replied pleasantly. "You should get some sleep now. Goodnight." With that she vanished once more. Jeanne flicked off the light and padded over to her sleeping spot. She dug under the blankets, curling up so only her nosepad poked out of the pile.

She didn't fall asleep for some time, her mind working furiously. She'd been manipulated, she saw that now. Marco had kept her away from the world and spoonfed her a twisted version of humanity's depravity. She had been young, and he was her father-figure, and she'd believed him. A knife twisted in her gut as she thought of those they'd tortured and killed for refusing to 'repent'.

Yoh had once accused them of being just like Hao and his followers. She had of course been deeply offended by the parallel at the time, but now she saw that it was true. They'd killed those who did not deserve death. If Hao had been a monster, then they had been too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf: I own nothing!

A few weeks passed in a bit of a blur for Jeanne. Everywhere she looked now she didn't see dirty souls in need of her salvation anymore. Instead she found herself wondering how they had gotten where they were today, and if they had regrets or dreams that they wish they'd gone after instead.

It took her some time to come to terms with the fact that Marco had not been the saving angel she always viewed him as. She supposed he had his own reasons for doing what he'd done, but she found it impossible not to be angry at him for manipulating her so much. She'd missed out on so much in her short life, and she'd done horrible things too.

Thinking of Marco always got her back on the subject of Hao. She wondered how he was doing, if he ever considered going back to his old life. She wondered how long he'd allowed his hatred of the humans who'd killed his mother simmer before it erupted. She even wondered if he'd ever cried himself to sleep.

Every so often she'd reel back in surprise at the fact that she'd accepted her new life. Being a cat wasn't so bad, especially since she was so pretty and got so many compliments. It may have been vain, but she didn't deny that she enjoyed the attention. She also liked living with Dom, he was quirky, funny and caring. She really wasn't sure if she wanted to go back to being human after all.

Dom was worrying her though. For the past few days he'd been quiet and brooding. Jenny and Kris had noticed, but he had shrugged their concerns off with a smile. The brooding had gotten a little worse after Jenny announced that she and Ray had found a new place and that she was going to be quitting. At first Jeanne had thought it was because she was quitting, but he was so genuinely happy for Jenny that she discarded that theory.

It wasn't as though Dom had become uncaring or even nasty to her, he just seemed... apathetic. It made her nervous. She did everything she could to make him feel better, purring and trying to be playful in order to make him smile. It would work for a little while, and then he would go back to brooding. She didn't like it.

"Little Lady, I can't keep doin' this." He suddenly said one day while they were eating dinner. Jeanne looked up at him, tilting her head in confusion. "It was fine when it was just me to look after, but I got you to think about now. Can't be workin' for the crime boss no more, no way." He muttered.

Jeanne stared at him some more. "I know what you be thinkin', the crime boss not goin' to want to let me go. Well, ole Dom got a thing or two up his sleeve." He chuckled softly and got up, hurrying to the bedroom. Jeanne padded after him, wondering what he was up to.

He was rummaging in the closet and came out with a shoebox. "Know what I got in here?" He asked excitedly. "I got tapes, footage of the crime boss killin' someone. You don't know what I had to do to find and get these." He grinned wolfishly. "You know what I'm gonna do now? I'm gonna drop you and these tapes off with Kris, at her place. That way nobody gonna be able to hurt you. Then I gonna go to the crime boss and tell him exactly what I got, and that if he don't let me go, I gonna squeal, get him put in jail. If he kill me, Kris will give the tapes to the police anyways, but I be bettin' he won't kill me."

Jeanne didn't like the idea, didn't like it at all. Dom could stay working for the crime boss for all she cared, she wanted him to stay safe. She meowed plaintively at him, hooking her claws into his pant leg. He reached down and picked her up, patting her head softly.

"I know it be dangerous, but I can't be doin' this for the rest of my life. People get killed, little Lady." He explained gently. "If anything does happen to me, Kris will take good care of you, I know it. I would ask Jenny, but the baby's on the way, and well, babies like to grab things."

Jeanne protested all the way to the door with meows as Dom got ready to leave. He tucked the shoebox of video tapes under one arm and cradled her in the other. As he walked she scolded him with meows and growls, trying to make him stop, to no avail. He only kept walking, a determined look on his face.

"Hey, Kris." Dom said when the frizzy redhead opened the door. She sighed at him.

"I suppose I can't convince you not to do this, huh?" She asked, green eyes worried and sad. Dom shook his head.

"If I don't come back in two days, you know what to do." He responded, handing her the box of tapes and setting Jeanne on the floor. "Little Lady, you mind Kris now, she in charge." Jeanne pawed at his leg, mewing sadly. "I'll be seein' you in a little bit." He said, reaching down to scratch behind her ears. He then stood up and walked out the door.

Jeanne couldn't shake the feeling of dread that settled in her stomach as soon as she was gone. She crept away, thinking to hide herself under the bed so Kris wouldn't see her freaking out. She padded to Kris' bedroom and immediately noticed the open window. Without thinking about what she was doing she leapt up on the sill and then squeezed herself through a hole in the screen.

She was determined to find Dom, even though she might get hurt out here. If he was going to get in trouble, she wanted to be there to help. It didn't occur to her that she was only about ten pounds, tiny compared to humans, and had no powers to speak of. She just wanted to be there for Dom.

Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air, searching for Dom's signature coffee and whipped cream scent. She found it and padded along the road as quick as her little legs would go. She began to get into the really bad part of town, but she didn't care, she had to find Dom.

She stopped suddenly, hearing the sound of someone getting beaten up. She crept quietly to the entrance of the nearby alleyway and peeked in. Dom was being restrained by a couple of men, while a third repeatedly punched him in the face and stomach.

Jeanne let anger take over and let out a yowl of anger, launching herself at the legs of the attacker. Her claws shredded through his cheap jeans and he let out a yelp of pain as sharp claws and teeth dug into his skin. Surprise made the other two loosen their grip and Dom hit out at them. After a couple minutes of being clawed and punched the three had decided they'd had enough and ran off.

Dom slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. Jeanne suspected he had at least a cracked rib or two. She ran to the mouth of the alley and meowed loudly until someone took notice and called 911. She then went back to Dom, who had passed out and nuzzled him softly, purring gently.

All the sudden the sound fled and everything seemed to freeze but her. White light surrounded her and when it was gone she stood, not as a cat, but human once more. Kia was standing in front of her, smiling softly.

"Congratulations, you've managed to love someone that you would have judged." She said.

"I learned what you wanted me to learn." Jeanne said, looking down at her hands. "What happens now?" Kia shrugged.

"You go on with life." She said. Jeanne looked down and saw Dom sitting there, unconscious. She knelt down and touched his face.

"He needs me." She told Kia. "And I think I need him too."

"Is that what you want?" Kia asked. Jeanne nodded her head, more certain than she'd ever been in her entire life.

When the paramedics showed up they found a silvery white kitten curled up in the victim's lap. Any attempt to take her away from the victim resulted in hissing and biting, so they let her be.

%&%&%&%

Dom's eyes cracked open and he smiled at the sight of Jeanne staring at him while sitting on his stomach. "Well, hello little Lady." He croaked out. "Looks like we made it after all, huh?" Jeanne mewed and purred, rubbing her head against Dom's chin. Dom yawned. "Gonna start savin' up for that restaurant now." He said, gathering her in his arms. "Gonna be good, you and me." They fell asleep together in the hospital bed, dreams of the future making their slumber sweet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf: Last chappie, hope you all enjoy!

_Epilogue – three years later_

"Come on, come on!" Yoh cried, pulling at his brother's arm. Hao shook his head at Yoh's impatience, but picked up the pace a little bit all the same. It never hurt to indulge his lover.

The two of them had decided on a world tour over the summer, with the Spirit of Fire to ferry them from place to place. They were in New Orleans currently, and one of Yoh's ideas for the day was to eat at a little bistro that he'd heard of that, although small, was very, very good. Hao had teased Yoh about thinking with his stomach, but he was as much a connoisseur as his brother was.

He caught up to his brother, who was moving on without him, entwining their fingers and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. The action made a couple of teenage girls giggle and coo nearby. Hao had been surprised by the amount of people who never batted an eye when they had their moments of PDA, but they also didn't know that he and Yoh were brothers.

Finally Yoh stopped in front of a small, but elegantly decorated restaurant called 'The Silver Lady'. Hao pondered the name for a moment before he was all but dragged inside. They walked into a dimly, but cheerily lit dining room with carved wood chairs and tables all set up. A frizzy redhead with glasses and green eyes walked up to them, smiling happily.

"Welcome to the Silver Lady, follow me please." She said. She escorted them to a table and set down menus in front of them. "My name is Kris, I'll be your server, can I start you with any drinks?"

"What kind of juice do you have?" Yoh asked. Kris began to list off the drinks they had while Hao looked around; he trusted Yoh to get something they both liked. He suddenly did a double take. Lying in a basket on the counter offering him a look into the kitchen was a silver cat. She had a queen-like bearing, surveying the room with calm eyes. "That's Lady." Kris explained, seeing what he was looking at. "You can go and say hi if you like, she's a real charmer."

When Kris left to get their drinks, Yoh got up to go pet the kitty. Hao followed, he liked cats after all. Lady turned as she heard them coming and Hao stopped dead at the sight of her eyes. They were rose coloured, and far too intelligent for a cat. He knew those eyes. He walked straight up to her, not breaking eye contact.

"Hello, Jeanne." He whispered. As he did so the air seemed to thicken and sound left the room, making him feel as though he'd gone deaf. The man in the kitchen, making the food was frozen in the act of flipping a filet.

"Would you like a moment?" A familiar voice asked. Hao was unsurprised to see Kia appear, sitting on the countertop. Jeanne, or Lady, nodded her head slowly. Kia said something and a white light surrounded the cat-Jeanne and hid her from sight. When it cleared, Jeanne in her human form was standing there in a simple white sundress, regarding them both calmly.

Hao wasn't sure what to say to her, and clearly neither was Yoh. A glance sideways told Hao that Yoh had not even recognised Jeanne until she'd returned to human form and was still having trouble processing it. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"I forgive you." She said evenly. Hao shut his mouth with an audible clack, now even more confused.

"What?" Yoh asked, blinking in surprise.

"I am happily the pet of a man who killed one man and assaulted countless others." Jeanne explained. "I love him with all my heart and I understand that he had reasons for doing what he did, and that does not make him evil. I do not approve of what you did, Hao, but I have been told a little bit, and I now can find it in myself to forgive you." She said with a small smile.

"Okay..." Hao said, still feeling a little bit like the world had turned upside down. "You stayed as a cat?"

"I wanted to stay with Dom, and Dom knew me as his little Lady. Besides, I grew to like being a cat." Jeanne replied. "What happened with you two, I saw you holding hands when you first came in."

Yoh blushed slightly. "We're together, in a relationship I mean." He told her. Hao half expected her to start screaming, but she merely raised a silvery eyebrow.

"You're an odd one Hao, but I didn't think you were that odd." She said calmly.

"I don't completely understand it myself." Hao admitted, shaking his head. "Yoh and I seem to have this connection, which has led to some very deep feelings between the two of us."

"Any ideas why?"

"Only a hunch. There's a part of me in Yoh, and I think because of that we are naturally drawn to each other. I no longer believe that Yoh is simply a part of me, but he does seem to be my soulmate." Hao explained, kissing Yoh's cheek lightly.

"How did everyone react to that?" Jeanne asked curiously.

"Of course my grandfather was the most horrified. Most of the rest of them were shocked and obviously wrestling with disgust until we explained our feelings. My friends all support us, and everyone in my family except grandfather." Yoh made a face. "He's always been kind of an ass, though."

"Hmm, so you've found happiness, Hao?" Jeanne asked.

"All that I wanted and more." Hao answered. "It sounds cliché, but I discovered the emptiness inside wasn't due to the fact that I had yet to accomplish my goal, but because I lacked love in my life. With Yoh, there's no more anger, no more hate. I'm just happy to be with him. God, I sound like such a sap, don't I?" He chuckled at himself.

"It's a better sound than what you used to sound like." Jeanne replied. Hao nodded his head.

"You forgave me, so it's only fair that I apologize to you." Hao bowed. "I am deeply sorry for all the pain that I put you through, Jeanne."

"Thank you, Hao." Jeanne said graciously. "And it's just Lady now. You can turn me back." She told Kia. Kia nodded and the white light appeared.

When it vanished she was nowhere to be seen and the world had resumed at its natural pace. Hao grinned in surprise and delight as Lady rubbed her head against his hand, purring happily.

"I told you she was a charmer." Kris chuckled, coming out with their drinks. "Would you like to just sit at the counter?" Hao and Yoh nodded and found themselves perched on stools while they got to relay their orders directly to Dom, who chatted them up happily while sneaking tidbits and pats to 'his little Lady'.

"This little Lady saved my life, you know?" He said happily, rubbing her ears with affection while she vibrated with the force of her purrs. "I woulda wound up dyin' in some godforsaken gutter if not for her, yes sirs."

The meal was pleasant and the food was exceptionally good and Dom had grinned and waved away their compliments. Lady even managed to charm both of the twins into giving her bites from their plates. "You're going to get chubby." Hao whispered to the fluffy, but fine-boned cat. She responded by batting him on the nose.

When they were done they were sure to leave a big tip, but lingered in the restaurant, petting Lady and talking with Dom while he served up food for his customers. Finally, reluctantly, they decided it was time to be moving again.

"We'll definitely be coming back to eat here again." Hao said loudly, not just to Dom, but to Lady as well. Lady inclined her head in acquiescence to his statement. She watched them go and allowed herself a smile of pleasure. Everything had worked out right, for all of them, and she couldn't be more happier with life.

**THE END**

Wolf: It's over, it's done! Hope you all enjoyed, I'll be back with a new story for you guys soon!


End file.
